Wood Group (J) Share News (WG.)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Wednesday.----------FTSE 100 - WINNERS----------John Wood Group, up 3.6%. Merrill Lynch restarted coverage on the oilfield services company with a Buy rating. ----------Lloyds Banking Group, up 2.7%. The high street bank posted a strong rise in annual profit as it increased its dividend and share buyback programme. In 2018, Lloyds's pretax profit increased 13% to GBP5.96 billion from GBP5.28 billion the year before. The lender's net income increased 1.7% to GBP17.77 billion from GBP17.47 billion in 2017, in line with consensus. Net interest income increased 3.2% to GBP12.71 billion from GBP12.32 billion. Lloyds declared a total dividend of 3.21 pence, up 5% on 2017. Lloyds also announced its intention to embark on a GBP1.75 billion share buyback, up on the GBP1 billion share buyback announced in 2017. "The big jump in profits can be almost all explained by falling charges for PPI compensation. To date PPI has cost Lloyds GBP19 billion, and with the claims deadline looming in August, that's going to be a millstone the bank will be glad to leave behind. That means more cash can flow through to shareholders, which is precisely what we're seeing with an increased dividend and share buyback programme to boot," Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Laith Khalaf said. ----------FTSE 100 - LOSERS----------J Sainsbury, down 15%. The UK Competition & Markets Authority proposed blocking the merger between supermarkets Sainsbury's and Walmart-owned Asda after highlighting "extensive competition concerns" arising from the tie-up. The anti-monopoly regulator found the deal could lead to a worse experience for customers though higher prices, poorer shopping experience and reduced range of products. The CMA also expressed concerns prices could rise at a "large number" of Sainsbury's and Asda petrol stations. In response, Sainsbury's said it "fundamentally disagree" with the findings reiterating that the merger will lead to significant cost savings allowing the two grocers to lower prices. Shares in grocers Wm Morrison Supermarkets and Tesco were down 5.1% and 0.2% respectively. "It's an ill wind indeed which blows no-one any good, but that seems to be the order of the day in the supermarket sector with Tesco, and Morrison sold off. This suggests the market is concerned Walmart may now seek to sell off Asda to another party, and there may not even be the silver lining of some shops being sold off to soften the blow," Khalaf said. ----------FTSE 250 - LOSERS----------intu Properties, down 8.5%. The shopping mall operator skipped its final dividend after a difficult year, with the firm wanting to reduce its debt rather than distribute the cash to shareholders. The Lakeside shopping centre owner's debt to earnings ratio was 53% at the end of 2018, above its 50% self-imposed limit, from 45.2% at the end of 2017. intu made a 9.4p final payout a year ago. The lack of a final payout for 2018 brings total dividends paid in respect of the year to 4.6p, a reduction on the 14.0p paid for 2017. intu's 2018 like-for-like net rental income growth was 0.6%, improved from 0.5% in 2017, though total net rental income fell to GBP450.5 million from GBP460.0 million. Growth in like-for-like net rental income came from new lettings and rent reviews, though it took a 1.9% impact from tenant failures. Looking to 2019, intu expects like-for-like net rental income to fall by 1% to 2% as long as there are no new significant tenant failures. Peer Hammerson was down 4.0%. ----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS----------Flybe Group, up 99%. The regional airline confirmed receiving a funding proposal to replace its deal with Connect Airways. However, the strugging airline reiterated its belief that the Connect Airways deal is the "only viable option". Flybe said it received a "preliminary and highly conditional" outline contingency proposal from an investor group led by Bateleur Capital and Mesa Air Group. The group is backed by former Stobart Group chief executive officer Andrew Tinkler and other un-named institutional shareholders, Flybe said. The proposed cash injection is conditional on Flybe's takeover by Connect Airways, a joint venture between Stobart, Virgin Atlantic, and DLP Holdings, not proceeding. Connect Airways agreed to acquire Flybe for 1p per share earlier in January. Furthermore, the funding deal is also conditional on agreements being reached with Flybe's credit card acquirers, banks, lessors and pension fund trustees. "The board does not believe that the indicative proposal is executable in the timeframe required to enable Flybe to continue to trade," Flybe said. ----------Integumen, up 22%. The personal health care company said a range of tests revealed that the addition of cannabinoid oils to skin care treatments greatly improved their effectiveness in reducing bacteria on human skin. Cannabinoid is a chemical compounded extracted from the Cannabis Sativa plant. Tests were conducted including formulations of STOER For Men, Integumen's skin care product range were carried out on bacteria which are common to human skin and resistant to some antibiotics. Preliminary tests revealed that the addition of cannabinoid oils to treatments could play a major role in lowering the chances of skin diseases occurring.----------OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS----------Haydale Graphene, down 53% at 11.00p. The graphene and nanomaterial manufacturer confirmed "speculation" that it is seeking an "imminent" equity placing. Haydale said it is in discussions with institutional investors about an equity placing but warned that any placing will be "carried out at a material discount" to the firm's closing price on Tuesday. Haydale closed Tuesday at 23.00 pence. The company said discussions remain ongoing and it will make a further announcement in due course.----------McBride, down 32%. The household and personal care goods maker warned of lower annual profit due to cost pressures. The company said that it continued to see pressure on its cost base, with the price of raw materials showing improvement since the end of the first half in December, but "not to the extent anticipated in early January". In addition, distribution costs continue to rise "beyond our previous estimates", McBride said, due to market rates and efficiency challenges driven by logistics capacity shortfalls and internal service gaps. Because of this, McBride said it expects a reduction of between 10% and 15% in its annual adjusted pretax profit on the prior year. For the year to June 2018, McBride's adjusted pretax profit came in at GBP33.2 million, meaning that, in the worst case of its guidance, the reduction could lead to financial 2019 adjusted pretax profit being GBP28.2 million. In addition, Peel Hunt cut the stock to Hold from Buy. ----------